2K and Firaxis recently released a new blog post about XCOM: Enemy Within, an upcoming expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The article offers some details about EXALT, a rogue organization intent on disrupting XCOM operations by acquiring alien tech for their own use.

EXALT works by placing hidden cells in the Council countries. If left hidden for too long, EXALT cells will carry out a variety of operations against XCOM – Propaganda to increase panic, Sabotage to destroy XCOM’s funds, and Research Hack to cancel research progress.

But XCOM is not without its own covert arsenal. XCOM can use Intel Scans, which increase in cost the more they are used, but reset to their base cost every month, to reveal EXALT cells around the world. When a cell is revealed, XCOM can select a soldier for covert ops duty, sending that soldier to the cell’s location. After a time, the soldier will need combat support; if this support is provided (in the form of one of our two new covert ops mission types), the cell will be destroyed and XCOM will receive a clue as to the location of EXALT’s headquarters. In this way, the player determines when and where (and whether!) to confront EXALT, but ignoring EXALT can lead to a lot of problems as cells proliferate and EXALT operations take their toll on the strategic situation.

Pixowl has announced the release of a Mac version of The Sandbox. Available as a free download at Apple's Mac App Store, the "all-pixel god game" gives players the chance to craft their own world in 9 campaigns spanning 136 game levels. Originally released as an iOS title, the Mac version is optimized for keyboard and mouse play and offers either windowed or full screen modes.

Play as one of God's little helpers in The Sandbox, the all-pixel God game. Now you can wield the almighty powers that He has bestowed upon you to craft the universe! Imagine crafting your own world in pixel blocks (with amazing pixel art style), playing with the laws of physics or with electricity! Compose your own music, control the creatures inhabiting your worlds and much more. The universe is yours to create or destroy, and the only limit is your imagination. Unleash the pixel artist in you!

Game Features

Over a hundred elements to combine for different physic effects!

9 exciting campaigns -- a whopping 136 game levels in all!

Add an intelligent life-form to your worlds: Humans!

Cruise around in your sport car, transport elements with a truck or destroy the land with your tank!

Change their behaviour using one of the 4 Job Magic Powders and turn them into a Miner, Builder, Hunter or Woodcutter. Dozens more behaviours will be added over time!

In a Kickstarter update InXile Entertainment recently offered new information about the company's upcoming post-apocalyptic Wasteland 2 RPG. The new post includes details about the game's map, surviving dehydration and radiation poisoning, random encounters, and the upcoming Wasteland 1 re-release.

Primary exploration occurs in a 3D map that shows your immediate surrounding environment with representative scale and geographic features of the region. Significant locations, settlements and sites reveal themselves as you scout around. The 3D exploration is in the same style and pattern as Mount & Blade and Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir.

While in the 3D world map, you can press “M” to bring up a 2D map displaying the entire region. This 2D regional map automatically updates with locations you have either explored yourself, or have been informed of by another Wastelander. The regional map has been handed down from ranger to ranger over the previous century, each adding their own details to what was originally an old-fashioned roadmap from the 1990s.

As you discover radiation zones they are marked on your map In Arizona, locations generally match their canonical layout from Wasteland 1. The map is filled with key locations you will discover through regular playthroughs; but significant sections of the map are side exploration opportunities. There is plenty of space to wander around, discover hidden resources based on your character’s build, fight random encounters and discover minor sites that may be explored in normal game mode.

Plug In Digital's Type Rider is available now for pre-order at Mac Game Store, and will be released on November 7. The unique arcade title challenges players to take their 2 dots on a trip through the ages of typographic styles and techniques, solving riddles by riding the most popular fonts and characters through the game's 10 worlds.

Incarnate 2 dots and travel through the ages of typographic styles and techniques. From the rock paintings of prehistoric times to Pixel art of the 2000’s, solve all the riddles by riding the most popular fonts and characters (Garamond, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Pixel, Comic Sans...) in a very captivating musical and visual environment.

Type:Rider is an adventure puzzle game that brings gaming experience to a whole new daring level.